xtf201193
06-11-2011, 09:38 PM
Chef Matthew Scott has emerged from the kitchen at Big City Bread Cafe for a brief break in the middle of a workday. It's not as much of a break as he thought it would be, actually; it's a University of Georgia graduation day, and nearby, a couple of wait staff are pulling together tables - a lot of tables - for an 18-person party.
http://images.morris。com/images/athens/mdControlled/cms/2011/05/25/834353061.jpg Special || Jason Thrasher
Chef Matthew Scott, left, and sous chef Colin Mays of Big City Bread Cafe. In the coming months, Scott will be cooking a series of dinners on area farms.
SpecialJason Thrasher
Chef Matthew Scott, left, and sous chef Colin Mays of Big City Bread Cafe. In the coming months, Scott will be cooking a series of dinners on area farms. Today has been nonstop.
And that's how it goes in the restaurant world.
Scott, who with his wife Deenan owns the restaurant, has been in the business for 17 years, and he's been known to work six months without a day off.
"The (staff) have been calling me 'chef' over the years here," Scott says, "and this is the first time I've ever been OK with that. It's starting to feel close to being justified - when you start to understand the definition of what it means to be a chef, then I think it's OK," he adds.
A graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C., Scott earned his degree in Applied Science in Baking and Pastry.
In 2005, Scott and his wife took over Big City Bread Cafe, located on Finley Street, at which point the separately owned but adjacent wholesale bakery still was in operation, supplying Athens restaurants and retail stores.
When the owners of the bakery closed up shop late in 2007, the Scotts purchased the bakery space and expanded, giving a much-needed indoor seating area to the cafe. Winter business sales went up, and staff didn't have to be cut back from season to season. The restaurant has been thriving ever since.
And considering Big City's courtyard for years was home to what grew to become the Athens Farmers Market, it seems an easy fit that these days, the restaurant joins the list of other eateries serving locally grown foods. Scott says he was inspired in part by Athens restaurants Farm 255, The National and Five and Ten, which also serve food from local farms.
Menu items at Big City come from Nature's Harmony Farm in Elberton (chicken, duck, rabbit, eggs, Ossabaw pork), Cedar Grove in Oglethorpe County, and Dancing Sprout and Mills Farms in Athens.
"We could easily take lower-quality products and make a larger profit," Scott says. "But this gives you a sense of well-being and a sense of purpose, that you're trying to make a difference. And I'm feeding my customers what I'd feed my own children."
Growing up in South Florida, Scott learned to cook from his mother, also a chef who studied French cuisine. "It started with mushrooms saut��ed in butter," he remembers. "By age 3, I knew how long it took chocolate mousse to set."
His first professional job in 1994 was in what he describes as a militant-type, Old-World style French restaurant, complete with kitchen brigade and spit-shined shoes(if you want to buy some discount nike shox shoes (http://www.localsportsshoes.com),you can go to china nike shoes shop (http://www.localsportsshoes.com).they not only providecheap nike shox ,but also provide cheap handbags (http://www.handbags-key.com)).
Scott admits to running a tight ship in Athens. "But in a town full of musicians and artists - no way," he says of his own management style. Instead, it's about punctuality and work ethic. "There's so much to that," he says.
"I train everyone to think with their stomachs," he adds of his menu, which is always changing - especially now that it depends on what comes in from the local food providers. "What makes you hungry? What inspires you?" he adds. "It's not about cooking for the classes, it's about cooking for the masses - what does it take to make people happy?" A dad of three, he says kids are welcome, too. If even one customer's upset, he adds, "I'm upset."
That said, there are some menu constants.
"Nobody's going to be happy about a sandwich coming out without a tomato because it's not in season," he says.
Out-of-season produce won't necessarily be on the dinner menu, which stays truer to the local seasons, but again, he says it's about making customers happy. There are certain things people have come to love about the restaurant,DIN5510-2 (http://www.fire-test.com), and he's there to please.
Scott says it's also been nice to create a community with the growers he works with. A series of farm dinners - where he comes to prepare a meal on the farm and serve it to patrons there - is in the works. The first is scheduled for Oct. 29 at Nature's Harmony Farm.
As for the future, consistency is the ultimate. "I hope in 30 years that we're here, this place is still here, and still being supported by
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http://images.morris。com/images/athens/mdControlled/cms/2011/05/25/834353061.jpg Special || Jason Thrasher
Chef Matthew Scott, left, and sous chef Colin Mays of Big City Bread Cafe. In the coming months, Scott will be cooking a series of dinners on area farms.
SpecialJason Thrasher
Chef Matthew Scott, left, and sous chef Colin Mays of Big City Bread Cafe. In the coming months, Scott will be cooking a series of dinners on area farms. Today has been nonstop.
And that's how it goes in the restaurant world.
Scott, who with his wife Deenan owns the restaurant, has been in the business for 17 years, and he's been known to work six months without a day off.
"The (staff) have been calling me 'chef' over the years here," Scott says, "and this is the first time I've ever been OK with that. It's starting to feel close to being justified - when you start to understand the definition of what it means to be a chef, then I think it's OK," he adds.
A graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C., Scott earned his degree in Applied Science in Baking and Pastry.
In 2005, Scott and his wife took over Big City Bread Cafe, located on Finley Street, at which point the separately owned but adjacent wholesale bakery still was in operation, supplying Athens restaurants and retail stores.
When the owners of the bakery closed up shop late in 2007, the Scotts purchased the bakery space and expanded, giving a much-needed indoor seating area to the cafe. Winter business sales went up, and staff didn't have to be cut back from season to season. The restaurant has been thriving ever since.
And considering Big City's courtyard for years was home to what grew to become the Athens Farmers Market, it seems an easy fit that these days, the restaurant joins the list of other eateries serving locally grown foods. Scott says he was inspired in part by Athens restaurants Farm 255, The National and Five and Ten, which also serve food from local farms.
Menu items at Big City come from Nature's Harmony Farm in Elberton (chicken, duck, rabbit, eggs, Ossabaw pork), Cedar Grove in Oglethorpe County, and Dancing Sprout and Mills Farms in Athens.
"We could easily take lower-quality products and make a larger profit," Scott says. "But this gives you a sense of well-being and a sense of purpose, that you're trying to make a difference. And I'm feeding my customers what I'd feed my own children."
Growing up in South Florida, Scott learned to cook from his mother, also a chef who studied French cuisine. "It started with mushrooms saut��ed in butter," he remembers. "By age 3, I knew how long it took chocolate mousse to set."
His first professional job in 1994 was in what he describes as a militant-type, Old-World style French restaurant, complete with kitchen brigade and spit-shined shoes(if you want to buy some discount nike shox shoes (http://www.localsportsshoes.com),you can go to china nike shoes shop (http://www.localsportsshoes.com).they not only providecheap nike shox ,but also provide cheap handbags (http://www.handbags-key.com)).
Scott admits to running a tight ship in Athens. "But in a town full of musicians and artists - no way," he says of his own management style. Instead, it's about punctuality and work ethic. "There's so much to that," he says.
"I train everyone to think with their stomachs," he adds of his menu, which is always changing - especially now that it depends on what comes in from the local food providers. "What makes you hungry? What inspires you?" he adds. "It's not about cooking for the classes, it's about cooking for the masses - what does it take to make people happy?" A dad of three, he says kids are welcome, too. If even one customer's upset, he adds, "I'm upset."
That said, there are some menu constants.
"Nobody's going to be happy about a sandwich coming out without a tomato because it's not in season," he says.
Out-of-season produce won't necessarily be on the dinner menu, which stays truer to the local seasons, but again, he says it's about making customers happy. There are certain things people have come to love about the restaurant,DIN5510-2 (http://www.fire-test.com), and he's there to please.
Scott says it's also been nice to create a community with the growers he works with. A series of farm dinners - where he comes to prepare a meal on the farm and serve it to patrons there - is in the works. The first is scheduled for Oct. 29 at Nature's Harmony Farm.
As for the future, consistency is the ultimate. "I hope in 30 years that we're here, this place is still here, and still being supported by
相关的主题文章：
Authorized Online Shopping Store, Hatslids (http://zwlt.hubei.gov.cn/ask/question.php?qid=216883)
4 Ways NOT to Promote Your SMB Blog (http://www.56china.com/world/space.php?uid=20738&do=blog&id=50692)
南京乳之宝 (http://www.jeparatrade.com/offer/detail.php?id=66704)
Exploring the Hollywood Propaganda Machine (http://www.dasouth.com/archived/forum/index.php?topic=1916421.msg2615801#msg2615801)